But the appointees did not include Shanghai Maling president Shen Wei Ping who was instrumental in negotiating the deal.
SFF chairman Rob Hewett said Shen has moved to another role in Shanghai Maling’s parent, Bright Foods, and his position on the SFF board would be taken by Bright Foods chairman Xia Xu Shen, who would co-chair the new company with Hewett.
“It is sad to see Mr Shen go. He was instrumental in delivering this deal but at the end of the day people change.”
He had met Xia Xu Shen who had been to New Zealand and visited SFF plants.
The deal in which Shanghai Maling invested $267 million for a 50% stake in the operating arm of SFF was completed on December 6, a month ahead of a renewed schedule.
SFF Co-op, owned by NZ shareholders, would own the other half of SFF.
Hewett said the Shanghai Maling directors on SFF had extensive governance experience.
The five Shanghai Maling appointees to the 10-person board were Robinson, MinterEllisonRuddWatts chief executive Mike Schubert, He Ru, Gu Xiang Yi (Henry) and co-chair Xia Xu Shen.
The SFF Co-operative appointees were Trevor Burt, Jane Taylor, Richard Young, Dan Jex-Blake and Rob Hewett who would co-chair the board.
Hawke’s Bay farmer Robinson was the chairman of AgResearch and was chairman of Richmond when the company resisted a hostile takeover by the then PPCS, now SFF, that started in the late 1990s and was completed in 2006.
Hewett said Robinson had moved on from that event. He had plenty to offer and Hewett looked forward to working with him.
Schubert has had extensive corporate experience. He was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he led the Fonterra audit team. This year he was appointed chief executive of the law firm MinterEllisonRuddWatts. He was also chief executive of the healthAlliance.
The board of SFF would meet next month while the SFF Co-op board would meet next week.
Retail meat packs designed for the NZ market had been sold in China for some time but with input from Shanghai Maling they would be altered to better suit Chinese consumers.
“The way Chinese consumers want it is slightly different to what we do.”
SFF would also have privileged access to the 8000 supermarkets in China that Shanghai Maling owned or controlled which, together with the fresh capital, would allow the company to invest in its brand and strategy globally, Hewett said.
